ṯmt

Egyptian

Etymology

From ṯm (feminine second-person singular dependent pronoun) + an element -t that forms older independent pronouns from dependent pronouns.

Pronunciation

• (modern Egyptological) IPA^(key): /t͡ʃɛmɛt/
  • Conventional anglicization: tjemet

Pronoun

 f sg 2. stressed (‘independent’) pronoun

1. you (see usage notes) [Old Kingdom]

Usage notes

This form was standard in Old Egyptian. By Middle Egyptian, it had been replaced by ntṯ, and was retained only as an archaism.

Unlike the suffix pronouns and dependent pronouns, the independent pronouns are not tied to any other element of the sentence. Nevertheless, the meaning of an independent pronoun depends on context:

• After an infinitive, it is the subject of the verb.
• Before a noun, its meaning can be ambiguous:
  • In the first and second person, it could be the subject of a noun phrase.
  • Alternatively, in all persons, it can be the predicate of a noun phrase.
  • If the noun is a participle, then in all persons it could be either the subject or the predicate of a noun phrase.
  • If the demonstrative pronoun pw is placed between the pronoun and the noun, the pronoun is definitely the predicate.
• Before an adjective, in the first person only, it is the subject of an adjectival phrase.

When the independent pronoun is the subject it may, but does not always, indicate an emphasised subject.

Inflection

Old Egyptian personal pronouns

	number	first person	second person		third person
			masculine	feminine	masculine	feminine
suffix pronouns	singular	∅, .j	.k, .kj1	.ṯ, .ṯn	.f, .fj1	.s, .sj1
	dual	.nj	.ṯnj		.snj
	plural	.n	.ṯn		.sn
enclitic (‘dependent’) pronouns	singular	w, wj, wy	kw, k, ṯw, ṯ	ṯm, ṯn	sw, s	s
	dual	—	ṯnj		snj
	plural	n	ṯn		sn
stressed (‘independent’) pronouns	singular	jnk	ṯwt	ṯmt	swt	stt
	dual	—	—		ntsnj
	plural	—	ntṯn		ntsn, jntsn
stative (‘pseudoparticiple’) endings	singular	.kj, .k	.tj, .t		∅, .j	.tj, .t
	dual	—	.tjwn		.wy, .wj	.ty
	plural	.wn, .nw			∅, .w, .y, .wy	.tj, .t
Only when attached to a dual noun or prospective participle.

Middle Egyptian personal pronouns

	number	first person	second person		third person
			masculine	feminine	masculine	feminine
suffix pronouns	singular	∅, .j	.k, .kj1	.ṯ, .t	.f, .fj1	.s, .sj1
	dual2	.nj	.ṯnj, .tnj		.snj
	plural	.n	.ṯn, .tn		.sn, .w3
enclitic (‘dependent’) pronouns	singular	wj, w	ṯw, tw	ṯn, tn	sw, st	sj, s, st
	plural	n	ṯn, tn		sn, st
stressed (‘independent’) pronouns	singular	jnk	ntk, ṯwt2	ntṯ, ntt, ṯwt2	ntf, swt2	nts, swt2
	plural	jnn3	ntṯn, nttn		ntsn
stative (‘pseudoparticiple’) endings	singular	.kw	.tj, .t, .tw3		∅, .w	.tj, .t, .tw3
	plural	.wn, .wjn	.tjwn, .tjwnj		∅, .w, .y
proclitic (‘subject form’) pronouns3	singular	tw.j	tw.k	tw.t	sw	sj, st
	plural	tw.n	tw.tn		st
Only when attached to a dual noun or prospective participle. Only in formal texts, especially religious texts. Only in postclassical (Neo-Middle Egyptian) texts.

Late Egyptian personal pronouns

	number	first person	second person		third person
			masculine	feminine	masculine	feminine
suffix pronouns	singular	∅, .j	.k, .kw	.t	.f, .fj	.s, .st, .sw
	plural	.n	.tn, .twn		.w, .sn1
enclitic (‘dependent’) pronouns1	singular	wj	tw, tj		sw, st
	plural	n, wn	twn		sn, st
stressed (‘independent’) pronouns	singular	jnk	mntk, mtwk	mntt, mtwy	mntf	mntst, mntjst
	plural	jnn	mnttn		mntw
stative (‘pseudoparticiple’) endings1	singular	.kw, .k	.tj, .tw		∅, .w, .y	.tj, .tw
	plural	.nw	.tn		∅, .w, .y
	unmarked (later)	∅, .tw
proclitic (‘subject form’) pronouns	singular	tw.j	tw.k	tw.t	sw	st, sw
	plural	tw.n	tw.tn		st, sw, swt
Only in formal texts, especially religious texts.

References

• Loprieno, Antonio (1995) Ancient Egyptian: A Linguistic Introduction, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, →ISBN